


Statement Reviewed

by IndigoMoonfly



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, He/Him and They/Them Pronouns for Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Light Angst, M/M, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29674137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoMoonfly/pseuds/IndigoMoonfly
Summary: The world is dying, the eye won, everyone is dead.Jon watches over this broken world, was there anything they could've done differently?They have a chance, Jon can change what was done, but how?
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. - Jon

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Butterfly Effect - Another Possible Ending](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26349361) by [RogueVigilante](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RogueVigilante/pseuds/RogueVigilante). 



Was there any way back? Any way to make what happened change? I look out of the panopticon, I can see everything, but I’m alone, so alone. Martin’s gone, everyone else is dead, the eye won.

It has been so long, I think, the world was dying, soon, everyone who wasn’t an avatar would be dead, and there would be no more fear.

It would be so easy to let it go, to surrender to the eye, to the urge pulling at me, but instead I pull, pull as much knowledge as possible from the eye, and it hits me. Sitting down on the cold panopticon floor, I force my eyes to close. The itch, the need to open them was almost painful, but I couldn’t, not if I wanted to fix the world.  
Sleep was a painful thing to reach but I got there, my mind is fully underwater, the door that kept the oceanit in check was fully busted. I could find a single opening though, and I force my consciousness to find the opening, a single path clear, a way back.

It would take a sacrifice.

The eye wouldn’t let me fix this world that easily.

Well, this cursed place has already taken too much, another loss wouldn’t matter.

So I do it, every comfort I had left, every good memory, I let the eye touch it, to make it sour, to make me fear never having anything like it again, to let me look back and see all the ways I failed that were my fault, and that I couldn’t blame on ignorance or lack of power.

ANd so, having drunk all it can from me and from the dead world, it lets me.

I wake up in my old flat, and look at the date, 24th of March, 2016, my first day at the archives, it worked! I did it! I’m back, the itch isn’t there, no eye, no nothing. I go to the toilet, I don’t have all my scars, my hair is cut short, darker and with less white than ever, and my clothes are still suited for an english teacher, boring ass, I look like I did five years ago. The real issue is how I acted back then, I was an arsehole, I really don’t want to be that fool again, pushing everyone away when I was so close to losing them. The archives were the same as always, eyes watching me from every direction, familiar feeling, of course Elias wants to watch, to make sure everything goes according to plan, well, I don’t think he would see me, and the chaos I’m going to cause, the amount of pain I’ll bring to his plans.  
I should have around an hour and a half before Martin comes in rambling about losing a dog, oh, the happy times. I started looking for statements, and for the trusty tape recorders who would definitely be waiting for me there. An hour and a half later, exactly on time, Martin came into the archives in a panic, boxes of his personal things held tightly in his hands, “Y-you didn’t happen to see a dog in the archives did you?” His voice, it took all i had not to tear up hearing him again, so different from hilltop road.

I did my best to not be a terrible person while acting like my old self, which maybe came off less like my reputation, I mean, even Rosie hated me, Rosie. 

The day ended, faster than expected, maybe that happened because I wasn’t stuck on being annoyed at Martin the whole day, I was an idiot, pushing away my emotions for a long, long time. Where do I go now? Home? I think that in this stage I actually went back to my flat, I actually slept back then and had a good sleep, no sleep and my eyes were actually closed, so I guess I should try to check if I can still do that.  
The empty flat welcomed me, and being there made the ache in me even stronger, the ache to be in that small cabin, drinking tea and cuddling, his love. So, crying and longing was how I spent my first night back, but at least I could sleep, and I didn’t dream.

The archives are much, much calmer than I expected, it’s calming, the steady come in of statements, nothing going on, even if I can recognise the entity that is responsible for the paranormal things going on. After a while, I slip into the pattern of recording statements and writing down my notes, I don’t record them, of course, I won’t feed the eye more than needed.

I’m just dreading having to stop the change.


	2. - Martin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> where martin is just a tiny bit angsty also woerms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> since this is at the start of the show, I'm not really sure about times and this may be a bit mixed up

I was warned by Rosie that Jon was terrible, but he wasn’t, not really, I lost a dog and the archives. It was a failure for a first day, but Jon, Jon was kind, he helped me find the dog and was awfully patient while doing so, thinking about him, my face warms up. MARTIN you can’t do this, you can’t fall in love with the first person who shows you basic empathy, mother would be so disappointed, well, she always is. I rolled over in my bed, can’t I just go to sleep? 

When I finally wake up, it’s late, I’m always late, and I get up.  
The Magnus Institute, I feel like I’m being watched in here, I guess it's kind of comforting, that someone is noticing me. Jon is already at the archives, I guess the archives are such a mess and he does have to clean the place up, but seeing him leaning in his chair, some of his salt and pepper hair falling in front of his eyes, I don’t know why, but the urge to brush those hairs away from his face hit me. Today I was going to investigate a statement, something about missing persons and a creepy dude asking for cigarettes, and it wasn’t that hard to find the right files, not with Tim and Sasha’s contacts and skills, I was just the one to pile it up, to make it more succinct. When I finished, I leave it at Jon’s office, he sat there, finishing up the first part of a statement, still in the same position I left him, no tea, no comfort, no nothing. I left after a minute, I don’t want to stare, it still feels like we’re being watched, and I’d rather not add to that. 

Tea, tea would be good. I scan the break room, jasmine, green tea, earl grey, chamomile, hibiscus, peppermint, chai, ginger, and ugh, oolong, why that tea. I give Tim and Sasha a cup of tea, and after a thought, I walk to Jon’s office, and give him the cup, is it just me, or is he blushing? I leave the office before he says anything, I’d rather not talk to him while my emotions are this much of a mess. Running away from my emotions, from the thing I try to understand, heh, that’s kinda poetic, I should write it when I can.  
I hand Sasha and Tim each a cup of tea, black with milk and two sugars for Sasha, a green with lemon and one brown sugar for Tim, each one thanking me and returning to their work. I make myself some tea, and then, with a thought, I make some for Jon as well, I don’t know what type of tea he likes, so I just make him some chamomile tea and put a teaspoon and a half of sugar in it, it seems average enough for him to be okay with, and I haven’t met anyone who truly hates chamomile. Making tea calms me, and it was nice to make others happy. I stand in front of the door of Jon’s office, what am I waiting for? For Jon? From what I know, Jon was still working, probably will for a while. It has been two months since I started at the archives, and Jon hasn’t taken a break once, it doesn’t seem to be healthy, but who am I to say? After a minute or two to collect my thoughts, I knock on his door, and, hearing muffled sounds of agreement through the door, I head in.  
The office is dark, so I turn on the lights. Jon is still sitting there, recording into his tape recorder, talking about some worms, I think.  
“Jon? I made some tea and I thought you might-” I make myself known, and he turns towards me, he has bags under his eyes, and his hair is a mess, after I realise I was staring, looking away, my gaze finds the cup of tea, and my glasses become foggy.  
“Oh, uh, thank you Martin.” he says, swiping a grey hair out of his face and taking the mug from me, when my hands are free, I use them to clean my glasses and leave Jon’s office, I think I can hear him saying something to me before I leave, but I have no time to listen, I have to do some actual work right now. 

The end of the day comes by quite quickly, Tim and Sasha have to tell me to leave though, and, well, they say you need to pass good deeds on. I knock on Jon’s door, I’m pretty sure that he is still in there, and I do care for him. Of course he’s still in there, writing down notes in a little notebook, the cup of tea I gave him is still there, empty. He doesn’t seem to notice me, so I knock on the door, and he notices I am there.  
“Hey- uh- Jon? It’s kind of late and- uh-” I stumble over my words, but Jon doesn’t seem to mind, he’s very patient, so different from the glimpses of the stern researcher I saw before.  
“Thank you Martin, I really did lose track of time.” He collects his notes, seeming a bit distraught, and puts that old tape recorder away, he walks to the door, and I realise that he has light stubble on his face, and his hair is longer, almost reaching his ears, grey and black and messy, he looks old, and tired.  
“It- It's okay, do you need anything?” It’s a basic kind thing to do, asking people what they need, right? I think it’s the right thing to do at least.  
“No, thank you Martin, I think you should rest yourself” he pauses, looking at me as if he knows something I don’t, “You need to take some time to yourself.”

My flat is empty, it has been ever since mother left. I make myself a cup of tea, just a simple black one with milk, one sugar. I can’t get over the fact Jon cares, really cares, more than anyone else at least. I start to blush, I lean against my apartment door, sipping on the hot drink, it feels me with warmth, but it’s not enough to drown out the butterflies that seem to fly in my stomach, those small things that almost make me choke, I’ve never been in love, not really and I’ve never felt this way. After getting a pencil and a piece of paper, I start writing a poem, but the words don’t really come to me, so I simply lay my head on the floor and try to sleep.

Then I see the small silver-ish worms trying to come in through the gap under my door.


	3. - Jon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter where Jon makes some actually good desicions and it's soft (I just need this don't @ me)

I failed him. I can see that after a few days of Martin not arriving at the archives, Jane Prentiss, I couldn’t stop her, and soon, she will attack the institute, and will mark me with the Corruption. I have to prepare.  
Elias’ office, I didn’t want to see him yet, but it seems I don’t have a choice, so I knock.  
“Jon? You needed to see me?” He says, that annoying, ever smug look on his face.  
“Yes Elias, it seems the archives need to pile up on fire extinguishers, there is quite a fire hazard, especially when the place is such a mess.” I will have to be careful not to let Elias know what I do, and bringing up this simple and true thing should help me with that.  
“Of course, I’ll get Rosie to order some right away.” Elias smiles, the same knowing thing that I wish to wipe off. 

The fire extinguishers arrives a few days later, and I make sure to have them spread around the archives thoroughly. I also tell Tim and Sasha what to do in case of an attack, to stay together and to try and meet up with the rest.  
“Boss, I would say you’re getting quite paranoid.” Tim berrates me as I check all of the archive exits again, and reorganize the fire extinguishers for what is it? the fifth time?  
“I suppose it does seem like that. Now could you help me get these statements, I’m afraid they’re quite high.” If I am getting paranoid at this stage, then it would be good to feed the watcher, the more power I have in these early stages the better.

It had been another month before Martin arrived in the institute again, Jane would follow very soon.  
“J-Jon, oh uh can I please make a statement?” He asks and of course I let him, this is important, I need to know as much as possible. I listen to him tell what I know he will, the worms, the strange woman, the fear.   
“You could stay in the archives, if you need to.” I’d rather he be here, rather he could help, I know it’s selfish, that I should just let him stay at home, keep all of the others safe, but I didn’t know what would happen to Martin if I did.  
“Thank you Jon, I think I should, yeah.” he smiles softly, Martin is safe here, I think. I doubt what to say next, if I should say what I know, but then decide against it, it’s too early.

The days with Martin living in the archives pass stressfully, ticking down, but him being there still calms me, his presence reminds me of the cabin, I wish we had more time, well, I guess we do now. So I keep working, statements and details that flew by me before, Martin and I are both the most prepared for the worm attack, seeing as we both spend the most time in the archives. 

It had been almost a month since Martin moved into the archives, we have both gotten close. I felt that statement call me, the statement about a man with a losing problem, a vase I think. It called me, and I answered, feeling the emotions of losing someone you love, and no one noticing a thing. It scared me, what if that happened to Martin, or me? I didn’t want to think about it. The statement kept going, and I started to dread, and as the statement ended, I saw the spider, that cursed web creature, but I knew not to hit it, instead, i hit a small hole in the wall, and sprayed as much co2 as I could into the tunnels, better to have to protect against less of the cursed worms. Right on cue, Sasha walks in, now I need to be very careful in what I say and do, I’d rather not lose anyone.

“Sasha, it seems that there are tunnels around us, and they are full of worms,” pausing to give her a look as I remove the fire extinguisher from the hole I made for a second, letting her see the disgusting, withering mass of worms in those tunnels. “Get Tim and remember to stay together, I don’t know what these worms will do.” Sasha looks at me in a different light, of course, I am handling this much better than I did, so she simply leaves.  
“MAHTIN,” wow, it has been a while since I yelled his name like that, but I need him now.  
“Jon?” He hurries to where I am, “What is it?” I show him the worms.  
“Sasha and Tim should be here in a few minutes, I know you have a corkscrew, so if either has any worms on them, get them out.” The fire extinguisher begins to be heavy in my arms, so I take it out for a second and check for the worms, they are dying, but more and more keep coming, knowing that this is the only way out.  
“Martin could you hold this please?” He takes the fire extinguisher from my hands and presses it to the wall, almost copying what I was doing a second ago. “Thank you.” AFter a few minutes, Tim and Sasha hurry in, I brief them of what I know about the worms, all of it, this is not the time to have any secrets.

“Soooo these have been terrorizing Martin for a while, and now they are here for us?” Tim asks, he doesn’t seem to be pissed off, that’s good, breaking the tense friendship we had just to stalk him was one of the dumbest things I ever did.  
“Seems so,” I answer him, “Martin, it seems that the fire extinguisher you are using is starting to run out, here.” I hand him another one, and the touch of our fingers sends a warmth down my spine.  
“What are we meant to do boss?” Tim turns to face everyone, no worms on his face, that’s a good sign.  
“We have a few things we can do, keep killing the worms slowly like this,” I motion my hand to Martin. “Or we can let them in, and turn the fire alarm on, spraying them all with co2, but that option is much more dangerous.” They all seem to consider the options, I’d much rather not get marked by the Corruption, but they don’t know what’s at stake.  
“Well,” Sasha says after a few minutes “I think we should keep going like this for a bit, it’s safer, and it won’t cause any stress.”  
“She’s right, this is the better option.” Tim adds, so we spread out, feeling for the weak points in the walls, breaking into the tunnels and spraying the worms inside.

I had a tape on me at all times, I wasn’t dumb, listening back will be very important, especially if one of us was replaced.

After a few long, tired hours, we finally take down all of the worms, the tunnels covered in dead husks. We find the trap door, the tunnels are like I remember, but coated in a layer of soft, dead things, it’s important we find Gertrude’s body, even though I don’t need the tapes, I know all I need to, but Basia and Daisy are important.

We find her, as expected, dead at her desk, Gertrude Robinson is dead. I got everyone to join me when finding her, and made sure we all stuck together, no one broke off. We called the police and left the tunnels.  
I listen to the tapes and talk to everyone, no not-them in our mix, that’s good, at least we’re avoiding that. Elias failed, I realise, he didn’t manage to mark me with the corruption, but I still need to make sure I get marked by as little entities possible. No need to worry about the unknowing, as no entity can complete a ritual alone, so that takes away the Stranger’s mark, and in turn, the Flesh and the Buried, that’s four down. How will the Eye make me it’s avatar? If I didn’t die, I would just be touched by it, nothing else, but I doubt it wants that.

After a few weeks, the archives go back to normal, well, as normal possible after everyone went through a life-threatening event, I tell the others things as if I was learning them for the first time, but when mentioning the Unknowing, I make sure to say that no ritual will work alone, Tim doesn’t need to go there, doesn’t need to die.  
“Um, Jon?” Martin comes up to me, like he does almost everyday, he usually just gives me a cup of tea and lets me keep working.  
“What is it Martin?” The touch of his hand on mine as he hands me the cup of tea still makes me blush, I thought being with him again would make it so I am used to him, and that I would stop going warm when he gets close to me, but I guess I was wrong.  
“I was wondering if you would like to eat sometime? I know this really nice cafe-” I’m not really listening to the end of the sentence, my face is blushing so badly even Martin should be able to notice it, but he doesn’t, as he keeps rumbling about the place.  
“Sure, I can come, are you free this Saturday?” I hear myself ask, why do I sound so awkward?  
“O-okay, meet you there at six?” Martin asks, I’m half sure he’s blushing, “I have some stuff I need to do all morning and noon.”  
“Sure, uh- I also have some things to do before six so yeah I’ll see you there.”

Saturday came by quickly, maybe because we didn’t have to wait for me to die to understand my emotions. I get ready, I take the time to sleep for the day, I do have skin products I’ve never opened, so I do my best to apply them.  
I don’t know why I care so much, but I do, so I try to comb my hair, and shave the stubble poking from my face. I get dressed, I don’t have anything casual, so I just grab the least professional sweater vest I have, I don’t bother with a blazer.

The cafe is a nice place, there are plants around, and everything is really sweet, it looks like a place Martin would like, I also note the little pride flag on the entrance.   
“Hey Jon!” Martin calls me from one of the tables, he’s wearing a soft-looking sweater and an anxious expression. I walk up to the table and sit in front of him.  
“This place looks nice, thank you for inviting me Martin.” he smiles softly and I feel my face warm as he holds my hand on the table.

Comfort, I haven’t felt that in a while, and this is something I missed, the soft gasps of air I never really had with Martin. We arrived at the cafe when the sun was still up, but it’s already twilight, so we head out.  
It’s cold outside, and I think Martin can see that, as he turns to me from out walking “You want a sweater? I have a spare one, it’ll only take me a second to get it.”   
“Oh- um, yes, thank you” I respond, and he hurries off, and I’m left hugging myself for two minutes until he comes back, holding a grey-blue sweater, it’s soft, and smells like Martin. He chuckles at me when I put in on, the sleeves are too long, and it's much too large, but at least it’s warm.  
“Do you want to go anywhere? Or do you need to go home? It is quite left.” I’d much rather Martin not choose to leave, I like this, I guess I like him.  
“W-well, we can go on a walk, I know a garden that would be beautiful at this time.” I want to hold his hand.  
“Sure, we can go there.” I instead answer.

It is beautiful, there is a rose garden, I imagine it would be much better without light pollution, with stars shining down on us, but well, I can't get everything, can I?  
We stop at a bridge in the middle, it's over a little artificial river that crosses the garden, and I lean over the edge, trying to hide my warm face, my reflection is blushing like hell.  
I turn to Martin, and reach out, he seems to understand, and holds my hand, he’s warm, comforting. So I pull him into a hug, I need that warmth, he’s soft, good at hugging.   
“Um, Jon? Can I kiss you?” I hear from above me, well if I wasn’t blushing before, I definitely am now.  
“Sure.” and with that he pulls me up, Martin’s lips are soft, and it’s comforting, I like him, really like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jonmartin fluff holds my soul

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the fic! this is my first one so I get if it's not that good, also I'll try to make the chapters longer, but I can't promise anything.  
> \- Indigo :)


End file.
